British HSBC workers who are losing their jobs are ordered to train their replacements in India, China and Poland before leaving

Banking giant claims that it is "standard practice" as union blasts them fore being "ruthless and reckless"

By TOM GILLESPIE

17th May 2016, 12:50 pm

Updated: 14th December 2016, 12:52 pm

HSBC staff being made redundant will have to train their Indian, Chinese, and Polish replacements before they leave.

Europe's biggest bank has confirmed that some of the roughly 600 workers being laid off in Sheffield will have to conduct the training.

The "ruthless" banking giant has claimed it is "standard practice that a period of handover is required when roles are relocated".

Dominic Hook, national officer for finance for the union Unite, said: "HSBC's decision to axe so many IT jobs is as ruthless as it is reckless.

"For almost a year staff have been left in the dark about their futures, only to be told that before being shown the door they're expected to train someone in India or China who will do their job for less money.

"It's a deeply cynical move by a bank which wants to be an employer of choice.

"Offshoring IT jobs to so called low cost economies is extremely short-sighted. As IT glitches across the banks continue to prove, it is ultimately the customers who will suffer the consequences."

HSBC is moving 840 non-customer facing IT roles out of the UK to other sites around the world by the end of March 2017.

Most of the staff losing their jobs are based in Sheffield, nearby Tankersley, and London.

The bank has said it is putting them out of work as part of an "ongoing IT investment to build a global world-class IT infrastructure".